Refine search for Car Tech

Road Angel Professional Connected Review

Author	Riyad Emeran
Published	25th Apr 2008
Manufacturer	Road Angel
Price	£260.86 (Exc VAT)
as reviewed	£299.99 (Inc VAT)
Latest Price	Click here

Features
Performance
Value
Overall

Watch Video Review discuss this article

5 comments Email

TrustedReviews Newsletters

Of course the alerts aren't just visual - in fact it could be considered quite a dangerous distraction if they were. You also get audible warnings, so if you're coming up to a camera van location, the Road Angel will tell you just that, and then emit a shrill beep that repeats until the danger is past. The sound is reassuringly loud, and I could hear all the alerts clearly over both Linkin Park on the stereo and the roar of my exhaust as the rev counter clawed its way to the red line. You can even set the Road Angel to increase its volume in line with the speed you're travelling, since engine and road noise both increase with speed.

Another nice touch is the ability to obtain accurate coordinates of your current location, so if you break down or have an accident you can tell your recovery company, or the emergency services exactly where you are, ensuring that help arrives as quickly as possible.

The unit has a built-in battery that will give you approximately four hours of use, a figure that I wouldn't argue with. As well as the aforementioned mains power supply and USB data cables, there's also a cigarette lighter power cable in the box. This means that you can run the unit from the power in your car, while charging the battery at the same time. It's definitely worth carrying the cigarette lighter cable in your car, just in case you find the battery running low on an unusually long journey.

As already mentioned, the Professional Connected is controlled via a handheld remote. Road Angel has been smart enough to include two remote controls in the box, meaning that if you have two cars, you can leave one in each and simply transport the device itself from car to car. The remote is small, flat and fairly unobtrusive, so it shouldn't look out of place in most car cabins. There are Velcro strips provided, allowing you to secure the remote to a convenient part of your dash, although personally I'd rather not be sticking things to my car's interior. Most modern cars come with small cubby holes for change, which will accommodate the remote nicely.

The basic Menu, up, down, back and OK buttons on the remote are pretty self explanatory. The Store button will store the coordinates of your current location and send them back to Road Angel. The Delete button will delete a user defined alert input. The Mute button mimics the button on the top of the unit by muting alerts, while the power button will switch the device off.

Latest 4 of 5 Comments

Have your say: Leave a comment below about this article.

ChaosDefinesOrder said on 7th September 2008

agreed!

"If you're a keen driver and wish to keep your license, don't speed in the first place!

Riyad said on 9th September 2008

Personally I believe in driving safely, and I don't feel that instituting speed cameras as a means of revenue generation is promoting safer driving.

I have never had a single point on my license or a speeding fine, and I was driving long before the introduction of speed cameras or detectors. However, as I wrote in my review, a friend's wife picked up three points and a fine for straying, literally a few mph over the limit while driving her daughter home from school, and she is in no way a speed demon, or menace to other motorists.

The point is, so called "safety cameras" are not there to create a safer environment, they are placed at locations that will generate the most revenue. Try driving around North Wales, where the roads can be very treacherous, especially if speeding and you won't find a camera anywhere in sight. But find a wide, flat, straight, multi-lane dual carriageway and they'll be everywhere.

I live in a small village where myself and the other residents have actually requested the installation of speed cameras, since drivers speed past schools and nurseries and through the village centre, but to no avail. So in a residential village, where children are playing in parks and on greens there are no cameras, but a few miles away on a motorway, there are dozens.

Add to that the fact that many cameras are positioned exactly at the point where the speed limit changes, and are often obscured or hidden (despite legislation saying that this should not be the case) and it's obvious that money making is the key here.

Interestingly, Swindon council recently decided to cease support of speed cameras, since it felt that they did not reduce accidents and instead just generated revenue for central government.

It's very easy to say that anyone who strays above a speed limit is breaking the law and should be prosecuted, but then being drunk and disorderly is also breaking the law, but you don't see the police locking up everyone who rolls out of a pub on a Saturday night. The difference being that motorists are easier targets, and with a camera triggering an automatic fine and points, the police don't have to lift a finger. Arresting and prosucuting people for drunkedness, vandalism and anti-social behavior on the other hand, involves actually doing something, which is why most Friday and Saturday nights, the last place you want to be is in a town centre.

Personally I believe in driving safely, and I don't feel that instituting speed cameras as a means of revenue generation is promoting safer driving.

I have nev... more

davidinbucks said on 15th September 2008

I have had mine a couple of weeks. This is an excellent device and works exactly as described on the Road Angel site. It's very useful to see what speed you're doing. My ... more

steven said on 16th September 2008

Its not about whether its right to speed or not. Either through guilt or innocence once you have 6 or 9 points on your licence you are not intentionally speeding though fear of loo... more

See all 5 comments on this article.

Add your comment

You must be logged in to comment. Login or register here.